According to appointment, I met with the church at Princeville, Nov. 30, and labored with them till Dec. 6, during which time I held ten interesting meetings, and gave seven discourses which seemed to rouse, encourage, and strengthen the brethren much. While we labored to show the responsibility that rests upon parents, with reference to their children, and the importance of so laboring through the week, that we may have life and energy left to engage in the worship of God on the Sabbath. We were glad to see that the word spoken took effect. Some confessed, with tears, their lack on these points, and good resolutions were made, which we hope will be practically carried out. The meeting was not as interesting as it would have been if we had had a more favorable time; it was cold, rainy, muddy and dark; still we had a fair attendance, and we trust that good has been done.
Dec. 6, we left for Gridley in company with Bro. Blanchard; rode through the mud fifteen miles to Chillicothe in a conveyance kindly furnished us by sister Robinson's husband. We hope the Lord will reward him for his kindness, and that he may be led to seek an interest in the atoning blood of Christ before it shall be too late.
We then took the cars for Peoria, and arrived there a little after 4 o'clock, P. M.; here we expected to stay till 9 o'clock, and then take the train that would land us in Gridley at 11 o'clock in the night. Owing to the freight train running off the track some four miles east of Peoria, we were detained till 10 o'clock, then had to change cars and walk past the wreck (there were fourteen loaded cars thrown off the track, some broken, others set on end, and some turned bottom side up); the train ran very slow, so we did not get into Gridley till after 3 o'clock the next morning. We concluded to go to Bro. Santee's, some three miles distant, but it being very dark, and the way partly covered with water, we concluded to put up for the night under a straw-stack that we came across. As soon as it began to get light, we resumed our journey.
Bucks Creek was between us and Bro. Santee's, and on account of the recent rain, was much higher than common, but there was no alternative; we must cross. So, taking off our boots and stockings, and making other necessary preparations, we commenced fording the stream which was about four rods wide. (Bro. B. and myself will long remember that December morning.) I believe it was the coldest water I ever put my feet into.
We crossed safely and arrived at Bro. Santee's, where we were kindly received. Our meeting commenced that evening, but in consequence of a severe rain storm, there were only one brother and sister and their children in attendance. Still Jesus fulfilled his promise contained in Matt. xviii, 20, to us. Praise his blessed name! Our meetings here were interesting, and all are firm in the truth, and desire to move with the body. We tried to show the necessity of being in earnest in the work of God, and of living out the great truths we profess to love. Bro. B. assisted in preaching the word, and showed clearly that God's people must come out and be separate from the world. Our ordinance meeting was truly cheering, like a refreshing shower to a thirsty and parched land. How many are the tokens of our heavenly Father's love.
The meetings closed on Monday evening, Dec. 10th, with a discourse from 1 Cor. vi, 19, 20, in which we tried to show the importance of caring for the temple of God (our bodies). The congregation paid good attention, and we trust that good has been done.68
Dec. 11, I parted with Bro. B., he to go south and I north. Oh that the blessing of the Lord may go with him. On my way to Shabbona Grove, I stopped at Ottawa and visited the family of Bro. H. C. Stone. They and sister Moore are the only representatives of the present truth in that city. Oh! that the Lord may help them to realize the responsibility that rests upon them to lead consistent lives.
I preached to quite a number of friends in Bro. Stone's house, in the evening, from Num. xiv, 21. The prospects before us looked beautiful indeed. There were a number of first-day Adventists and one minister present. Here I learned that “we must keep the first day by faith,” which I think is correct, for we cannot keep it by command or example of our Lord or his apostles, for they never gave the command nor set the example; hence, if we keep it at all, it must be “by faith” in the traditions of the fathers.
I then traveled from Ottawa to Shabbona Grove; tarried with the brethren there till the 17th on account of a severe snow storm. I preached but twice, then labored from house to house; found all the dear brethren and sisters holding on to the truth. Oh! that the Lord may help them to be faithful, and preserve them blameless unto his coming.
Dec. 19th, I arrived at home, and found my dear family well and glad to see me. How sweet the enjoyment of a happy home! Thank God, separations will soon be over among the righteous!
“Fly swifter round, ye wheels of time,
And bring the welcome day.”
Sabbath, the 22nd, I preached to my own dear brethren at Clyde, from Rom. xiii, 11; they all manifested a great desire to see the work of God revived in their midst. It cheered our hearts to see them have a mind to work. Our prayer is, that God may revive his work gloriously among them.
Dec. 26, I left home to attend my appointments in Wis. Met with the brethren at Little Prairie the 29th; the weather was extremely cold, and consequently there was not as large an attendance as there otherwise would have been; still, there was one load from Oakland, two from Johnstown Center, and a number of scattered brethren, attended the meeting. I think I never was in a place where the people gave better attention than they do here. I held ten meetings, during which I preached seven times. I sincerely trust that the word spoken has taken effect, and God grant that these dear brethren and sisters may be enabled to “gird on the whole armor of God,” that they may be enabled to stand amid the perils of the last days.
R. F. ANDREWS.
Little Prairie, Wis., Jan. 2, 1867.
Meetings in Greenbush and Holly.
By John Harvey Waggoner
ON resting a few days, I found I was more worn by the labor and exposure in Gratiot than I had realized. I suffered considerably with my lungs and throat; but I found good rest, with opportunity for bathing, and right living, at the hospitable home of Bro. Richmond. On Sabbath, I spoke with difficulty, but felt some better on first-day. All seemed much pleased to hear the truth, and earnest to live it out. An aged sister, who was visiting in that neighborhood, who had long been in the service of God and passed through many afflictions, but had never heard the present truth, gave an intelligent and very interesting testimony in favor of our position on the Health Reform. She also confessed the Sabbath.
Dec. 12, I took the cars and once more found my good home in Holly. Home! yes; what is home on earth but a temporary resting place? And where is home, if not where the weary pilgrim finds kindness and Christian sympathy? Praise to our Lord who fulfills his word to his servants. See Mark x, 29, 30.
Our meetings were interesting and I trust profitable in Holly. Some of the little company are early learning what it is to be persecuted for righteousness' sake; but they were firm in the faith. I tried to give a comforting message, and point to the promises of God and to the example of Jesus, who bore affliction and reproach with patience. Here the Lord heard prayer for the sick, and gave relief. The testimony on the Health Reform was well received.
Dec. 20, I came to Tuscola Co. The roads are becoming quite good, and as I think how they were while I was in Gratiot Co., I feel like earnestly requesting the Committee to make provision for labor in that County while the roads are passable. In the mean time I hope the brethren there will “walk in the light,” that the Lord may comfort them continually.
J. H. WAGGONER,
T uscola Center, Jan. 1, 1867.
READER, what is your hope of Heaven?
The Fear of God
Thou, God, seest me. Every secret of my heart is known to thee. Thou hearest my words, and recordest my actions. Thou art acquainted with every motive of my soul. Let me walk in thy fear; for the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. A good understanding have all they that keep his commandments.
Encouragement to Ministers and Their Wives.
By Jemima E. French
As I have realized, in a faint measure, the great sacrifice these servants of God make in order to feed the flock, and lift the warning voice to the transgressor, I have felt a longing desire to be able to speak a word of encouragement and thankfulness to them.
Dear Brethren, be assured that you occupy a warm place in the affections of your brethren and sisters, and when you go forth to breast the cold storms and the bleak winter winds, and to meet the frowns and scoffs of a wicked world, remember that in a little while this cold and dreary earth will be lit up by the sunlight of God's glory; the scoffer will forever have perished, and you, if faithful, will have received “glory, honor, immortality, and eternal life.” What could you ask more? Yet there is much more in store for the faithful servant of God.
When you are tired, cold, and hungry, and your lot is cast among strangers, where your food will not be the most healthy, perhaps, your accommodations poor and inconvenient, and your spirits sink with discouragement, and your hearts ache for home comforts, remember, at that very moment, perhaps, faithful brethren and sisters are pleading your particular cases before the Father, that your very name is upon their lips, that voices, both at the family altar and in the prayer-meeting, are beseeching the Giver of all good to give you strength of body and mind, to encourage your heart, and make you an effectual laborer in his vineyard. Yet a little while, and the dark clouds will all vanish; you will be safely housed in those mansions above, with the privilege of eating the fruit of “Life's fair Tree.” Then these little trying scenes will scarcely be remembered; for the joy of that land will know no alloy.
When you stand up in your weakness to warn your fellow-men of the coming danger; when you see the eyes of hundreds upon you, many watching for the purpose of finding fault, others to criticise your language, remember where your strength lies. In that assembly surely there is some honest soul who will hear the word of life; and if you can be the means of turning one sinner from the error of his way, you will have saved a soul, covered a multitude of sins, and won a star which will shine forever in your crown of rejoicing. Then I would say, Labor, faithful one. Many will rise up and call you blessed. The people of God will bless you as you go from place to place, giving them meat in due season. There are so many encouragements and blessings for the messengers of the cross, that time and words fail, and I can only say, Endure to the end. Soon “He that is to come will come and will not tarry,” and you will receive the rich reward which He will bring with Him.
Now, my dear sisters, what must I, what can I say to cheer your lonely hearts? I know it is but natural that you should feel cast down, and almost forsaken at times, and I do not wonder that you almost murmur sometimes, and think your lot truly a hard one. How often, as I sit by the fire of the long winter evenings, while the drifting snow fast covers our time-worn earth, and the wind shrieks and howls fiercely around our dwelling, does my mind wander off to your lonely hearthstones. There, in my imagination, I behold you with your little ones gathered around you, and you trying to soothe and comfort them, while your own heart is aching with a burden they know not of. The one heavy thought presses upon your mind, oh, where is my poor husband! What is his condition this cold night! As I behold you thus, gladly do I drop the sympathetic tear; but let me tell you, my dear sister, even in this lonely situation you are highly blessed. Your case may even be worse than I have pictured, wasting sickness may take hold of your dear children, and even death itself may enter your dwelling; yet you are a highly blessed woman. But you will say, oh! you know nothing of the real trials we undergo in giving up the companionship of our dear husbands, and bearing the hardships which must necessarily come upon us. It is true, perhaps, in a certain sense; yet I ought to know something of these trials; for, long since, death came to my fireside and snatched from my side the one to whom I had fondly looked for support and protection, and I am now left to battle with life's ills alone. My dear sisters, you should rejoice that you have the privilege of making so noble a sacrifice for the cause of God. You must remember that the church is daily lifting the voice of supplication in your behalf. Your kind husbands never forget you in their secret devotions. I know that the heart of every Christian is filled with gratitude when they hear the words of life, and they feel thankful that you are so noble that you will give up your husbands to go from place to place, bringing that instruction and encouragement which we all so much need. If your brethren and sisters so kindly remember you, think you that you will be forgotten by the great God? I tell you nay. The angel of the Lord encamps round about you, if you put your trust in him. When your faithful companions are rewarded, if you have nobly borne your part, he will in no wise leave you out, but you will share in their crown of rejoicing.
As you look into the happy faces of your little children, feel that to your hands is committed their salvation. O let neither friend or foe keep you from being faithful to your charge. While your husbands labor for the salvation of others, strive with equal earnestness to bring your little ones up in the fear of the Lord. Teach them, by precept and example, to obey God and keep his commandments. Then, when your companions receive their bright, and starry crowns, your own may not be a starless one.
JEMIMA E. FRENCH.
Princeville, Ill., Dec. 23, 1866.
Church Lotteries.
By J. H. Waggoner; J. G. H.
[BRO. SMITH: The following article is from the Portage Co. Democrat of Ravenna, Ohio. It is not written by a fault-finding infidel, to deride the church, but by a professor of religion and church-member. It speaks of a common evil, and is calculated for any latitude: J. H. WAGGONER.]
MR. EDITOR.—I read lately, in a New York paper, the following sentence:—“The word lottery has become distasteful to refined ears, because it is associated69with gaming and dishonesty, with immorality and ruin.” And the same paper adds:—“In Mexico, Spain, and Italy, where lotteries are permitted, treachery, debauchery, theft, and every kind of villainy, are practiced in connection with them, and their whole history has been one of immorality and abomination.”
Such being the complexion, and history of lotteries, England, and many, if not most of the States of our American Republic, have prohibited them, under the penalty of fines, more or less heavy. Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Jersey, forbid them under a pain of two thousand dollars for each offence. And Ohio forbids them, under a pain of a money penalty; and takes particular pains to exclude every form, and description of them, however disguised under softer names, such as raffles, &c. And Ohio expects her citizens to regard her laws, and uphold and honor them, and not tread them contemptuously in the dust. This she expects of every true-hearted citizen; and she says that if he do not so do, he is worthy only of a fine or the States’ Prison. And having so said, what does she expect of CHURCHES? She would feel awkward in putting a church into the States’ Prison, or imposing upon it a fine. But is that any reason why a church should tread on the civil laws? Because a church can possibly violate a State Statute unchallenged, should she therefore do it?
The church has the credit, deserved or undeserved, of having furnished a prominent part of those reforming influences which brought about the enactment of civil laws against lotteries. Suppose the credit is deserved; as I think it is, what now? Shall she be among the first to assault these prohibitory laws or to undermine them, or to tear them down and to set up lotteries again? Shall she go to work to poison public sentiment with the old love of lotteries, and to encourage this sorceress of universal iniquity to open up once more her seething cauldrons of dissipation in the bosom of Christian communities around? And yet she so does, when she opens lottery schemes, under whatever soft names, in her fairs, got up for good and benevolent purposes. She so does, when she flings her saintly banners to the breeze, inscribed with the names of all tempting things to be disposed of by lot. And yet she holds on to her old name as the church, the house of the Lord among men.
I have no inclination to revile. But I would simply ask, in all truth and solemnness, Are these things so? Report says they are. I heard not long since, of a cow, that at a church fair in this village, brought the large sum of four hundred dollars. How so? Why by tickets sold for her. By lot. She would have brought this enormous sum in no other way. Also, as I understand, at a still later fair, a large variety of fine articles were disposed of in a similar manner. They were sold by lottery. Some were the property of the church, by gift, and others were sold by them on commission. They brought large prices. The money obtained for them was for a good purpose. The lucky ones who got the articles got them for a small price; much less than their real value. Ah, me! What is all this, but what our plain, blunt English calls gambling? Disguise it as we may, God writes it as gambling. And the world writes it as gambling. The world knows what gambling is, for itself gambles. It is familiar with its face. And when it sees it in the bosom of the church, though disguised with a pious hood, it knows it. It is its old friend gambling. And it will require more than all the rains of this one passing generation to wash the smut of it off from the church’s face.
Trampling thus the Statutes of the State under her feet, and pioneering schemes of money making by the aid of lot and chance, it might be well for the church to do, as Daniel Webster, in his speech against Hayne, said that sailors did, after having been many days driven by fierce winds, under a cloudy sky; viz: take an observation and see where she is. Has she drifted into the seas of Mexico, Spain, or Italy? Or, where is she? Let some skilled mariner tell us.
But, says an apologist, this is for a good cause, and more money is obtained in this way than without it; and the price of the tickets is small, and willingly given, &c., &c. To which we answer; that there is a vast difference between Pagan ethics, and Christian ethics. Pagan ethics hold, that the end justifies the means. But Christian ethics hold no such thing. Pagan ethics permit a man to steal a pig, provided he will offer it to the idol. But Christian ethics would permit no such operation. It would debar the stolen pig from the altar. And if the church is for turning back her shadow, on the dial-plate of morals, so far as to throw herself within the precincts of Pagan ethics, it is high time indeed, that she took her observation to see for herself, where she is.
A worthy citizen, in speaking with me of the matter, owned, that if it had been an open affair anywhere else, in the street or the like, he would have had nothing to do with it. “But you know,” said he, “it was for a good cause.” Well, my friend, one step further; knock down the next man you meet, in daylight or dark, and rob him of his money, and hand it over to the church. It is in a good cause; the end will justify the means! The church will have so much gained, that would otherwise be lost to her.
Besides, if the church may set up lotteries, then why not an individual? Why not any other association of individuals? And then, lo! and behold, a brood of lotteries; as in the good old times, when there were no statutes against them; and as in the choice lands of Mexico, Spain, and Italy, where vice is the rule and virtue the exception, and where churches are not expected to have a morality higher than that which prevails around them, and may gather money into their coffers in any way that seems the most productive, or successful. If the key-note of church-life, now-a-days, is only money, or money above morals, then, in truth, have we fallen upon evil times. If the church says, “Money I want, and money I will have, let the civil statutes be as they may, and let what will become of public morals;”—then the shadow of the dark ages, without a question, is beginning to come back upon us. And in the darkness of those ages, the church, we fear, will be much like the passenger in one of the wrecked California steamers, a few years since, who, in the frenzy of his avarice, filled his pockets with his shining treasure, jumped over into the sea, and sank.—J. G. H.
News and Miscellany.
Can ye not discern the Signs of the Times ? Matt. xvi, 3.
—Advices from Madrid say, that the Queen of Spain has been warned against placing implicit confidence in her army, for a rumor is current that disaffection prevails to a very large extent among all ranks of the Spanish soldiery, and that many officers of the highest rank are suspected of insurrectionary tendencies. The possibility of her Majesty abdicating is again whispered about.
—It is proposed by some of the Paris journals, that the Pope shall abandon a considerable portion of his temporal possessions; indeed, that he shall only retain the Vatican, with the adjacent gardens and a portion of the city on that bank of the Tiber. If His Holiness can be brought to consent to this arrangement, the Roman Catholic Powers are to subscribe together to provide him with the revenues which will suffice for the maintenance of his dignity as becomes the heads of the Roman Catholic Church, and for the support of a Pontifical guard.
—Preliminary steps have been taken in Congress toward the impeachment of Andrew Johnson. A resolution has passed the House, and gone to the Judiciary Committee for evidence.
—The bill granting the right of suffrage to the colored citizens of the District of Columbia, has been passed over the President’s veto.
—Information comes from North Carolina that a new crusade against the freedmen in that state has been inaugurated. All manner of charges are brought against them, and whipping and selling them into slavery is quite general; one planter near Wilmington having boasted that he has purchased hands enough to restock his plantation. By an existing State law, a man convicted of crime and punished at the whipping-post, is forever disfranchised; and it is hoped that by this means they will be able in the future to thwart any action of Congress giving suffrage to the freedmen. The turnpike roads of Western North Carolina are thronged with emigrants, both white and black, fleeing to find new homes, and escape vindictive cruelty and oppression.
—The Eastern question begins to look again more ominous. Candia is not conquered, but, according to the latest dispatch from Athens, the Turks have been defeated by the insurgents with heavy loss. An intervention of the European Powers in the affairs of the Greek subjects of Turkey, is again spoken of. Austria is charged by a semi-official paper of Berlin with an intention of invading Turkey—a charge which, we need hardly say, deserves no credit. Austria will for many years to come, think more of preventing than of attempting invasions.—Det. Trib.
—The (London) Times expresses new fears of the cattle plague, which has re-appeared in three shires of England, and is increasing in Eastern Europe. It will now have occasion to repent its advice as to “stamping out”—not the Fenians, but the cattle.
—At the pew-renting in Beecher’s church, the best pew was secured by H. B. Chaffin, the dry-goods prince, for an aggregate annual rent of $670. The total receipts for pew letting will be over $50,000.
Cholera at the Isthmus. LATE advices say Cholera had broken out among the U. S. troops detained at Nicaragua, en route for California.
“Earthquakes in Divers Places.” Ten or eleven distinct shocks of earthquakes were recently experienced at Sorel, C. E., occupying a period of 30 or 40 seconds altogether.
Frequent earthquake shocks in Sacramento and other points along the Pacific coast, remind the inhabitants that many things are passing away.
Paris, 5th. Despatches received this morning announce the occurrence of a terrible earthquake in Algeria. Many villages were destroyed and a large number of lives lost.
The Great Star Shower.
By William B. Herron
THE GLORIOUS SIGHT IN SWITZERLAND—TERRIFIC “RAIN OF FIRE” IN ASIA AND AFRICA.
A letter from Switzerland, in The Springfield Republican, contains an interesting account of a night expedition up the Alps in order to witness the November Star Shower from its lofty summits.
THE STAR SHOWER AMONG THE ALPS.
“About one o’clock in the morning the signal news was heard and we soon gathered around our sentinel on the rocky ledge which commanded a view of the whole heavens.
The clouds by that time had become numerous and thick, but would, now and then, separate in a most tantalizing manner, and reveal for a moment the glorious scene beyond. Meteor succeeded meteor with such rapidity that the account kept was almost worthless, so much did the different accounts vary. Many strikingly large and brilliant meteors were observed, but their course could not be followed far by reason of the many clouds. Long trains of luminous matter marked the course taken by many, and these trains often remained long after the meteor itself had disappeared. They were, in fact, often more brilliant than the meteor, and sometimes seemed to have more than a single head, as if two or more had blended together.
Many of these trains must have been, though their length could not be seen by reason of the clouds, at least twenty degrees long. The meteors which we were fortunate enough to see seemed all to come from the constellation Leo. I have no doubt that, had the night been clear, we should have seen thousands. As it was, before the clouds had entirely covered the sky, we saw enough to know that the grandest exhibition of the kind that could be imagined was there transpiring, thus adding another proof of the accuracy of astronomical predictions.”
THE METEORIC SHOWER IN ASIA.
Beirut, Syria, Nov. 23, 1866.
“For the benefit of your scientific readers, and more especially for an old friend, Prof. Newton of Yale College, I will give a brief account of the meteoric shower of Nov. 13th and 14th: Prof. Newton’s announcement in the public journals was duly noted, and, in order to draw the attention of the people of Syria to the subject, one of the American missionaries in our city wrote an article in Arabic for the weekly Arabic newspaper, requesting the public to watch during the nights of the 13th and 14th for a grand display of falling stars. The notice was read with astonishment by some and with ridicule by others. Have they prophets in America who know when the stars will fall? Who told them? The old sheikh, a famous Arabic scholar, declared he should not believe it until he saw it. The thing was incredible. It was a piece of Western assumption to think that they knew more than we Easterners do.
On the morning of the 11th [Sunday,] at a little after midnight, some young men in Beirut, who were out of doors, saw what they described as a rain of fire, the stars seeming to have got loose and running about the sky in disorder. Soon after, a terrific thunderstorm set in, and for two hours there was an almost uninterrupted crash of thunder and glare of sheet-lightning.
On the morning of the 14th, at 4 o’clock, I was awaked from sleep by one of the Protestant young men shouting, “the stars are all coming down!” I arose immediately, and spent the rest of the night with some friends, guests in my house, walking upon the house-top. The sight was indescribably grand and beautiful. A slight mist obstructed the view toward the south, but over Lebanon and the sea, the sky was clear and the meteors were pouring down like a rain of fire. Some were small, and others were large, and almost every one left a long train of fire behind it, so that the effect was beautiful in the extreme. One immense green meteor came down over Lebanon, nearly as large, to appearance, as the moon, and burst with a loud noise, leaving a green pillar of light in the train. Many of them roared through the air, and exploded before reaching the earth.
While looking toward Lebanon the whole sky became suddenly illumined as if by the light of noon-day, and turning around we saw an immense column of light to the northwest over the sea, being evidently the train left by some enormous meteor which had fallen into the sea. It was in vain to count them, and the display continued until the dawn, when their light was obscured by the king of day. The young man who aroused me from sleep said that a half hour previous, or at half past three, the sight was terrific, and he ran into the house for fear of being overwhelmed with fire. It was, he said, a continuous fire rain of large and small stars for more than half an hour, when he remembered my request and ran to give me word. The alarm was first given by a native watchman in the Preparatory Department of the Syrian Protestant College, who had heard of the expected display, and was on the lookout. I have just received the Arabic newspaper of this week’s issue, and find in it the following news about the meteors, which, for your benefit, I will translate:
“BEIRUT DOMESTIC INTELLIGENCE.—There has preceded this a notice in No. 481 of our journal, of the falling meteors on the 12th and 13th of November. There happened a marvelous thing of the kind on the night of the 13th and morning of the 14th of the said month. Many of the people of Beirut, on that night, from the ninth hour of the night until the eleventh hour thereof, (or 2½ to 4½ o’clock A. M.,) saw the meteoric stars scattered through the heavens flying from every side, and they saw thousands of these meteors mixed in commotion and confusion, and compared their extent in the heavens to the spreading out of locusts in the sky. We have news from Damascus that these same events were seen there. They compared them to mighty armies joined in a fierce strife from the four quarters of the sky, and the arrows of fire great and small dashed to and fro between them and falling to the earth, smote one another to the east and west and north and south. From the multitude of meteors of different sizes, it was impossible for one observing them to tell how many fell in a minute.”
THE SHOWER OFF THE COAST OF AFRICA.
The London Times, by the last mail, brings a brief notice of the meteoric phenomenon as observed on the morning of November 14th, from the steamship Tanjore, in the Eastern Mediterranean, off the coast of Tripoli, on her way to Alexandria. “The whole heavens were illuminated by thousands of meteors, shooting in a southeasterly direction.”
THE METEORIC SHOWER IN TURKEY.
A correspondent of the N. Y. Tribune, writing from Constantinople, alludes to a most beautiful display of meteors observed there on the morning of November 13th and 14th. On the first morning he noticed about 4,000 per hour, the actual number, of course, being much larger. On the 14th, the sky was obscured with clouds, until nearly sunrise; but the display of meteors, between two and three o’clock, was undoubtedly some 10,000 an hour. On both occasions they were of all sizes and colors. Many of them lit up the heavens like a flash of lightning; and in several instances they left trails of light behind them from 5° to 20° in length, which remained some five minutes. Not a few persons were alarmed at this rare and startling phenomenon, believing that the stars were falling from heaven. A great fire occurred in the midst of the display, on one night, and the writer surmises that it might have been originated by a falling meteor.
The grand shower of 1863, in this country, it may be remembered, was preceded by a display in Europe, of great beauty, the year before; a chance, therefore, seems to exist, that we may yet have an opportunity of witnessing this sublime species of celestial pyrotechnics during the fall of 1867.
Our previous expectations of grander displays over the Eastern Continent are confirmed; and the great “rain of fire” of 1866 in Asia must have been nearly if not fully equal in splendor to that of 1833 in America. God is giving the whole world the signs of the Lord’s coming.
WILLIAM B. HERRON.
Boston, Mass.
A Backslider Finds Mercy
By E. A. Hale
From Sister Hale.
BRO. SMITH: For the first time I write a few lines for the Review. It cheers my heart to read the testimonies from the brethren and sisters abroad, and I feel like telling them the joys of my heart, and what God in his infinite goodness and mercy has done for me and mine. Fifteen months since I was a backslider, far from God, with no interest in religion. I thought the door of mercy forever closed against me; that I had sinned away the day of grace, and was hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. I was in a sad condition. I would often think over my lost condition, and say, What shall I do? It is no use to pray, God will not hear me. I have broken so many vows, he will have no confidence in me.
I would think if I could find some good Christians that seemed to be living for God, I would go to them and get instruction, get them to intercede for me at the throne of grace. I looked about me and said to myself, Where shall I find one? Echo answered, Where? Professed ministers of God would call at our house and talk upon all other subjects but the right one, manifesting no interest in our salvation. I despaired. Satan says, You have been deceived. There are no true disciples of Christ. Every one is for himself. And I believed it fully.
One year ago last August, Brn. Andrews and Cornell commenced tent meetings here. I was so prejudiced against Adventists I would not go to hear them. I thought they were very bad people. At last, out of curiosity, I went to hear, and the more I heard, the more it sounded like truth. I began to study the Bible, and found it corresponded with their teaching. After a time I became interested. God called after me again. I felt it to be the last call I ever should have. I began to fear and tremble. I began to yield and call to God for mercy. I felt as though these messengers were true disciples of Christ. I believed it with all my heart, and when they prayed, I felt as though God would answer. It has proved so. I called on God to forgive my sins, and, thanks be to his holy name, I trust he did; and this day I am rejoicing in his love. And my companion who had no interest before in religion, has given his heart to God, and with me is trying to keep all the commandments and to have the faith of Jesus. Here we have erected the family altar, and morning and evening our united voices ascend to the Father of mercies in thanksgiving and praise to his adorable name for what he has done for us, and the people in this place. He has blessed us abundantly within the past few months. We have seen those starting who have been convinced for a long time of the truth, taking up their cross and trying to serve God. Oh! it is blessed.
Bro. Canright has labored faithfully with us, trying to get us into working order. We think his labors have been blessed among us. The interest in our prayer-meetings has steadily increased both in numbers and zeal. Many honest hearts are trying to serve their Lord and Master. And, by the grace of God, we mean to be faithful, that when Christ comes, there will be a goodly number here who will say, “Lo! this is our God we have waited for him, and he will save us.”
Somerset Co., Me.
E. A. Hale.
Gratitude for the Review
By Arlina R. Penniman
From Sister Penniman.
BRO. SMITH: I have just finished reading the last Review, and have been so profited by its contents that I wish to thank the dear brethren and sisters next to God, for their contributions. I am glad of the enlargement of the paper, but wish it might yet be doubled. My opportunities for meeting with the church are very few, and the Review is often my only meeting, so that I take great interest in reading the cheering testimonies which come from distant ones in favor of those precious truths revealed in God's word, and I wonder that more do not confess Christ in this way.
I have been much edified to-day in reading Bro. Loughborough's sermon, and most of all things do I desire to be a dweller in the kingdom of God, and not only so, but feel a great burden for those around me. It is my daily, earnest prayer, that God would especially bless the messengers of the truth, and raise up more laborers to proclaim the last message of mercy and warning to a perishing world, and I am striving also to have my life an example in favor of the truth, and do all in my power to spread the same among my friends.
I feel grateful for the Health Reform, and while I conform my life to its teachings, and strive to glorify God in all I do, I feel that sweet peace that “flows like a river.”
I often think of the dear brethren and sisters whose names I see in the Review, but whose faces I have never seen, and feel my heart knit with theirs in the bonds of Christian love and sympathy.
Surely we are united in the great and blessed work of overcoming, and preparing for the coming of Jesus, and for translation into his glorious kingdom.
Thank God, we are permitted to get a glimpse by faith of that rich inheritance, and now and then a foretaste of the joys of that heavenly country. Oh let us count it all joy if we suffer want and sorrow here, knowing that beyond there is fullness of immortal joys.
“Oh! what are all my sufferings here,
If, Lord, thou count me meet,
With that enraptured host to appear,
And worship at thy feet.”
ARLINA R. PENNIMAN.
Trumbull Co., Ohio.
Conference Department.
Exhorting one another, and so much the more as ye see the day approaching. Heb. 10, 25.
This Department is designed to fill the same place in the paper that the Conference or Social Meeting does in the worship of God. Speak often one to another to comfort, edify and aid each other in the way of a genuine and true Christian experience.